It has been said that there were 12 ‘judges’ but in fact there were only 6 major judges, two of which we’ve already discussed. Deborah will be our third:
After Ehud’s death, the Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord turned them over to King Jabin of Hazor, a Canaanite king. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-haggoyim. Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help. Jdg. 4:1 – 3. NLT
So, we see that the ‘sin sequences’ are continuing.
Deborah, a prophetess…was judging Israel at that time…and the Israelites went up to her to settle disputes. Jdg. 4:4, 5. CSB
Deborah calls forth her military commander, Barak, and says:
“Behold, the Lord, the God of Israel, has commanded, ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men [of war] from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his infantry to meet you at the river Kishon, and I will hand him over to you.’” Jdg. 4:6, 7. AMP
And so, Deborah and Barak are divinely called to liberate the Israelites from the devastation and bondage that they brought upon themselves through their paganistic ways.
God used Jabin, a Canaanite king, as His instrument of punishment. However, His children cried out for mercy, and their Holy Father sent them Deborah.
Sisera was informed about Barak being at Mount Tabor, so he gathers his 900 chariots to launch an attack on Barak, but God attacked Sisera’ army with confusion, allowing Barak to be victorious in the battle. Every one of Sisera’s soldiers was wiped out. Sisera ran away on foot.
After Deborah and Barak’s victory, they composed and sang a victor’s song (See Jdg. Ch. 5). Israel had forty years of rest, which brings us up to approximately 1200 B.C.
At the end of those forty years, Israel falls back into a fourth sin sequence:
Then the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years. The [powerful] hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Jdg. 6:1, 2. AMP
The Midianites would destroy Israel’s crops, and the people would go hungry. Midian oppressed the Israelites for seven years. After which, Israel would finally cry out to Jehovah once more.
God first sent an unidentified ‘prophet’ to Israel to remind them of the many times He had delivered them, yet they repeatedly have been disobedient. (See Jdg. 6:7 – 10.) Then the narrative shifts to identify the ‘judge’ that God would prepare to deliver His insubordinate children:
Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon was beating wheat in the wine press [instead of the threshing floor] to [hide it and] save it from the Midianites. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O brave man.” Jdg. 6:11, 12. AMP
Gideon was beating the wheat in a wine press, which is usually contained within a building, whereas a threshing floor is located outside. He was afraid his wheat would be confiscated. Gideon asked the Angel of the Lord why God had abandoned His people to the Midianite oppression. Pay attention to His answer:
The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the grasp of Midian. I am sending you!” Jdg. 6:14 CSB
Note the Bible is referring to the Angel of the LORD as the LORD Himself, who declares to Gideon that He is sending him to liberate Israel. Since no one can see Jehovah and live[1], it must be the pre-incarnate Christ.[2]
Gideon protests:
“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” Jdg. 6:15 NLT
God’s response:
The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.” Jdg. 6:16 NLT
Gideon prepared a food offering for God (Angel of the LORD), who touched it with His staff, and fire came out of the rock it was laid upon and consumed the offering. (Here is another proof that the Angel of the LORD was a theophany. Angels cannot accept worship.)
[1] Ex. 33:20
[2] Jn.1:18
Next, God tells Gideon to destroy his father’s (Joash) pagan altars and replace it with an altar to Jehovah. After he did that, the townspeople find out and they tell Joash that Gideon must be put to death. But Joash challenges them saying that if Baal is a god, he will kill his son. That did not happen.
Israel’s enemies approach:
Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel. Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him. He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their warriors, and all of them responded. Jdg. 6:33 – 35. NLT
Then, Gideon is looking for a sign from God that will assure him of his victory. He even has the temerity to ask Him to fulfill a sign of his own design. He places a woolen fleece on the threshing floor and asks that He allows the morning dew to soak the wool but not the ground underneath it. God gives him this sign.
Gideon was not heavily imbued with faith, and asks for another sign, a reversal of the first: fleece dry, ground wet. God provides.
He musters up 32,000 men for battle. Jehovah tells Gideon that he has too many men. God is looking to bolster the faith of Israel in His ability to deliver. He tells Gideon to dismiss anyone who is afraid. 22,000 went home.
God tells him that he still has too many men. He reduced them to 300.
Gideon spies out the enemy camp:
The armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts. Their camels were like grains of sand on the seashore—too many to count! Jdg. 7:12 NLT
Staying hidden, Gideon overhears one soldier telling another that he had a dream that reveals an Israeli victory in this upcoming battle. Fortified, he divided his 300 men into 3 groups, had them approach the edge of the enemy camp, blew on shofars, lifted up blazing torches and shouted, “A sword for the LORD and Gideon!”
The Midianites panicked, thinking that they were surrounded, and God confused them so that they fought each other. Any who got away was chased down and killed by Gideon’s army.
Gideon lived another 40 years and there was peace in the land. As soon as he died, Israel once again turned to paganism…
Next time, we finally get to meet Samson!
Goodnight and God bless.